


Home

by zococoa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, Original Planet and Aliens, Pining, Slow Build, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-06 21:18:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12219162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zococoa/pseuds/zococoa
Summary: The team is granted with an opportunity to visit Earth, but first they have to answer a distress call from a new planet.(Pre Season 4 - canon universe. Also I'm bad at descriptions)





	1. Bonding Moment

Keith found himself nodding off. He was curled up, knees tight against his chest, in the once familiar pilot seat of the Red Lion. As he drifted off his old companion made a low rumbling sound, almost like a purr. It had been a long and tiring day. 

-

"Princess, we are receiving a distress signal from somewhere inside the Virgo Super-cluster." The ginger haired man called out from his post.

The paladins had formed around the hologram of the map, looking at the blinking beacon in the middle of a mess of stars and planets. Pidge adjusted her glasses, squinting up at the beacon and its surroundings. "Coran, can you enhance the map closer in on the signal?"

"Certainly number five." Coran tapped at a few buttons on his station and zoomed in the graph to a more localized view. As the smallest paladin took in the image, she gasped and looked to the group with wide eyes.

"What is it Pidge?" Shiro moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, examining the image that he was obviously missing something from.

"The Virgo Super-cluster... I knew I hard heard of it before. That super-cluster contains the Milky Way!" Pidge looked up at her teammates with bounding excitement in her eyes. However it took a few moments for what that meant to dawn on them causing her face to droop in disbelief. "Seriously? The Milky Way?" She prodded. 

"As in, our home galaxy?" Shiro was incredulous, "With Earth?" It had felt like years since they were all on Earth last. As he said the words the rest of the paladins perked up.

"We get to go home?" Lance was almost on top of Coran's station now. 

Allura stepped in before anyone got too excited. "Paladins, I know this is your home planet we are talking about but we have to answer the distress beacon first." She knew more than anyone the longing for home. Especially when she could never go back to hers.

"So we go check out the distress call and then we visit Earth. Please Princess." Lance was advancing on Allura, "Please please please." 

Allura frowned and nodded, "We will try our best, but I cannot make any promises. Please understand." She placed a gentle hand on Lance's shoulder and offered him a look of compassion. "I know how terribly you miss your family," then she turned her attention to the rest of the group, "all of you."

Keith scoffed, arms crossed, and sat at his station. This earned him some looks. Shiro looked at him with understanding, but Lance turned on him with fire in his eyes. It was actually a little unsettling to see this much anger on his face. "What's your problem, mullet?"

Keith put his hands up in defense, "I don't have a problem."

"So you think we shouldn't get to see our families?" Lance furrowed his brows. His family was a pretty touchy subject for him, they filled his thoughts in most of his free time. He never got to say goodbye. They probably didn't even know he was alive. 

Keith sat forward, clenching his fists and furrowing his brow as well, "I never said that!" He understood why his team missed their families, but he couldn't really relate. He was jealous, he never really knew the feeling of family. 

Shiro stepped in and held out his arms in between them. "Calm down!" He looked back and forth at his two teammates. "We need to answer the distress call first. Focus on that." Everyone made sounds of acknowledgement and disbanded.

Allura and Coran worked on setting a course to the location of the beacon. Hunk and Pidge made their way towards the kitchens for a snack. Lance wandered off to take his mind off of things, probably take a hot shower. Keith was storming down the hall towards the training room when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.  
"Keith" Shiro had his disappointed dad voice on and it made Keith groan as he turned to face him. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Shiro knew that he was closest to Keith, so he tried his best to be there for his friend as often as possible.

"I didn't do anything." Keith huffed as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I know," Shiro started, "but you could have been a little more sensitive. You know everyone else misses their families."

Keith clenched his teeth. Why did he have to be sensitive to other people when they weren't on his side when he wanted to find answers about his mom? Shiro was the only one who would vouch for him. Then he was revealed to be part Galra and people flipped their shit. But he was the insensitive one? He took a deep breath. "I'll try better next time." He faked a small smile at Shiro and turned to walk off. Leaving him standing in his wake. 

Keith worked himself to exhaustion, only stopping when one of the training simulations landed a heavy blow on him and knocked the air out of his lungs. He dragged himself back to his room. He showered and curled up in his bed hoping that he had tired his body out enough to grant him a night's sleep. He tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, so he pulled the knife from under his pillow and trudged through the halls in a path he knew all too well. 

\- 

In the weeks that had followed Shiro's reappearance Keith found himself in the Red Lion most nights. The bond that they still had could relax him into at least a light sleep. He was still exhausted most mornings, but it was better than being completely deprived. The Red Lion let out another soft rumble.  
Keith was rattled out of his slumber when he heard the whooshing of the doors behind him opening. He jumped to his feet and held his blade in front of him. His body ready to fight but the figure in the doorway was slumped and half asleep. "Lance?" He lowered his knife, furrowing his brows and frowning.

Lance yawned and stretched his arms up over his head. "Keith? What are you doing in Red?" 

"I... I couldn't sleep." Keith wasn't able to think of a better excuse, and it wasn't really a lie. "What are you doing here?"

Lance put his hands on his hips and squinted at Keith. "What am I doing? This is my lion."

"I-It's just late, I thought everyone would be sleeping." Keith looked down and fidgeted with the blade in his hands.

Lance stood up straighter and looked at Keith, "Is something wrong?" He pinched his brows together preparing for the usual Keith-dancing-around-answering-questions time.

"No, I just couldn't sleep. That's it." Keith frowned and made for the door that was still open behind Lance. As he pushed past, the exit slid shut. His frown intensified as he examined the door. Seriously? "Red open up!" He waited for a moment, but when the doors still didn't open he banged a fist against the heavy metal, groaning. 

Lance stood back and watched the exchange. The lion had locked Keith in with him, it was what he had wanted, a chance to get answers out of his teammate and Keith not being able to run away. He was brought out of his thoughts when Keith addressed him. "Lance, tell Red to let us out."

Lance studied the look on Keith's face. He could tell that Keith did not like the idea of being trapped in here with him. Lance, however, thought it would be very amusing. Keeping the thought of not having the doors open strong in his mind he spoke to the lion. "C'mon Red, open the doors." Nothing. "Buddy?" Nada. "Please?" He put on his best pouty face to sell the act. When there was no sign of escape, Lance threw out his arms in defeat, "Well mullet, looks like we're stuck here for now." 

Keith's face turned red as he slumped down against the door, sliding to the ground. He took a few deep breaths before looking up at Lance, "How did you even know I was here?" 

"What?" Lance thought back to why he was here in the first place, "Oh, I heard Red making some noises while I was asleep, felt like he was calling me here. I didn't think you would be here. Just like you, I assumed everyone was sleeping." Lance lowered himself to the ground across from Keith, resting against the back of the pilot chair. 

Keith laughed shortly and looked away, "I'm never asleep." He tried to think of the last time he got a decent night of sleep. It must have been early in their Voltron days. Before losing Shiro, before the Blade of Marmora, it's been a while.

Lance frowned at him, "Why can't you sleep? That's not good for you, man." They might not always get along, but he genuinely cared about Keith. He thought they were friends.

Keith sighed. He knew that being stuck in here with Lance was not going to be painless. He knew he couldn't be mad at him for being concerned, just like he couldn't be mad at Shiro or Hunk or any of the others when they showed they cared. It just scared him. It terrified him. He had to chose his words carefully so that it didn't all come flooding out at once against his will. "Anxiety." It was simple and most people shrugged it off, because it was 'just stress and everyone experiences stress'. Lance made a face like that explained everything. Like he somehow got a glimpse into Keith's world and understood him now. 

"My mom has anxiety." His expression turned into a frown, thinking about his family. The idea that they could be so close, but he still might not get to see them. 

Seeing the sorrow on his face, Keith couldn't help himself. "I'm sorry about earlier Lance. I hope we make it to Earth so you can see your family." Keith was genuine, but he also wouldn't pass on an opportunity to take the attention off himself.

"Thanks." Lance offered a smile. He could be how he normally is and tease Keith about apologizing, but that's not what this was about. He wanted to have a bond with Keith, he wanted an actual friendship. Friendly rivalry is fine, but he wanted to feel the friendly part. "I'm sorry too."

Keith looked surprised at Lance's apology, "Wha- Why are you sorry?"

"I was heated and I accused you of something you didn't do. I was just upset." Lance looked down at the ground, thinking and rethinking the words floating around in his head. He didn't know when he would say something and have Keith flip on him. "Why don't you want to go back to Earth?" There was a noticeable frown on his face. He just didn't understand why Keith wouldn't want to go home.

Keith looked up at him and sighed. "I don't have a family like you or the others, Lance. Earth is no different than all these other planets we've been to. It's not home. At least... not for me." He couldn't believe he was actually opening up to Lance, and he wasn't being teased mercilessly for it. It was actually kind of nice, but that didn't stop him from having all of the red lights and alarms going off in his head. He didn't get close to people.

Lance nodded and grunted in understanding. Took in his words, 'don't have a family'. Looking up to see the, what Lance could only pinpoint as, slightly scared expression on his new leaders face. "Aren't we your family? I mean obviously not like, blood family, but we are together twenty-four-seven and we have each others backs and we-" he stopped himself from rambling and flushed at the cheeks. He expected Keith to snap back, but was surprised when his tone was soft and thoughtful.

"I guess." Keith had thought of them as a family before but pushed the thought quickly out of his mind. He knew that not all families were like his, in fact most of them weren't. His family abandoned him, and he'd be damned if he let that happen again. So he chose to be alone, it was easier than thinking he was cared about and then being left behind. He felt tears threatening at the corners of his eyes, he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and rested his head on his arms crossed over his legs. "That's why I come here when I can't sleep. The bond I feel-" he swallowed again and looked down, "felt with Red was the closest thing I could associate to family."

Lance frowned, noticing how the topic was affecting his friend. He felt bad for bringing it up, but he felt... honored? Keith opened up to him and he would like to think without too much prodding or resistance. Lance held up a fist halfway between them, looking up at Keith through his eyelashes and giving a friendly smile. "We good?"

Keith stared at his fist for a moment. "Yeah." He smiled and extended his fist to bump Lance's. 

"And Keith," Lance paused, "I'm here for you if you need anything."

Keith feels a flush cross his cheeks and hopes Lance doesn't notice, but he returns the smile, "Thanks."He flinches in shock at how quickly Lance jumps up from the ground in front of him.

"Alright, let's get out of here." He reaches his hand out to Keith to help him up. 

"The doors are still closed." Keith had a look of confusion on his face, but took Lance's hand to stand. He turns to the structure he was just leaning on. Yep, still not open. 

Lance looked at the door quizzically. He thought he was controlling the doors through the Red Lion, but maybe Red had his own ideas. "I'm missing out on my beauty sleep," he struck a pose with his hands framing his face, "We should really find a way out."

"Can we call for help?" Keith offered, making his way to the control panel. He tried tapping on the buttons, but Red wasn't responding. "You might need to try, you are his paladin." 

Lance stepped up to the panel and tried to call the main deck of the castle. Nothing. "Okay seriously Red, what the heck?" He flung his hands up in the air in exasperation. The lion makes a growling noise and the entire ship starts to rumble. Lance grabs onto Keith's arm to maintain balance. "Red?"

Suddenly they are jerked from their position at the pilot seat and ejected on the ground in the hangar. Lance is clinging to Keith's side and when he finally opens his eyes he sees feet in front of him. Feet covered in yellow and green lion slippers. Lance flings himself off the ground and rubs a hand on the back of his head. "Hey guys! Red was holding us captive, can you believe that?"

Keith was pushing himself off the ground and noticed that Lance's face was red as he was laughing about their situation. 

"What were you two doing in there?" Pidge crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow in their direction.

Lance threw an arm around Keith's shoulders and smiled wide, "We were just having a bonding moment. One that I'm fully conscious for this time." Keith shrugged out of Lance's grip, rolling his eyes. Without a word he stalked off.

Hunk watched as Keith left and turned back to Lance, "What was all that about?"

"Also, bonding moment?" Pidge inquired.

Lance shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants, beginning the trek back to his room. "We were just talking and Red locked us in." Pidge and Hunk caught Lance's pace and kept asking questions, but Lance was generic in his responses. He had gotten closer to Keith and he had opened up. He was going to honor that. His friends flanked off as they neared their rooms. Lance made it to his doorway and hesitated to go in. He looked down the hall to where Keith's room was. Should he check on him? If he was actually able to sleep it would be better if he didn't bother him. 

Lance was relaxing in bed, becoming one with the soft surface. His eyes grew heavy, thoughts fluttering through his mind as he drifted off. His family would like Keith.


	2. Journey to the Center of Krustallos

The castle was approaching the location of the distress call. Coran went over the comms system to alert everyone of their ETA. "Paladins! Planet Krustallos is roughly a varga away, give or take a few dobashes. Assemble on the main deck." 

Keith dragged himself out of bed. Dressing in his paladin uniform groaning all the while. He managed to get maybe an hour of sleep after everything that had happened during the night. The rest of the night he felt like he was drowning. It felt like someone placed an anvil on his chest and sat on it for good measure, just to make sure he was helpless. He stood at his doorway for a few moments before taking in a deep breath. His anxiety wasn't normally this bad, but he had to fight it - for his team. The doors in front of him opened and he walked through, meeting the rest of his team in the corridor.

Pidge was teasing Lance for missing a spot when he was washing off his face mask. Keith could still see the small patches of green that framed the outer corners of his eyes. It reminded him of the marks Alteans had. Lance was pouting and trying to rub off the remains.

"Morning Keith." Hunk grinned in his direction. "I saved you some breakfast goo." He offered Keith a small pouch that he had been hanging on to.

Keith smiled and accepted the pouch. "Thanks Hunk." Hunk's smiles always managed to make Keith feel warm, if only for a second. The undeniable friendliness that resided in him was incredible. He brought the pouch to his mouth. The goo was definitely an accustomed taste, but it really wasn't bad.

As they approached the main deck, Shiro, Allura, and Coran were all gathered around the holograms. The images came into focus as they drew nearer. It was diagrams of the planet and it's people. A lot of the information was blank.

"Uhm I'm sorry but are those bug-people?" Hunk gaped at the holograms. Keith followed his gaze to a portrait of a massive creature that was almost a spitting image for a praying mantis. These creatures stood taller, on four legs, and their thorax looked like it was made of crystals. "Because I don't do bugs." He cowered next to Pidge, bitting his fingernails with worry. 

Coran turned and clapped his hands, "These aren't just bug-people. These," he made a swooping gesture at the images, "are the Kruos of planet Krustallos. They are an inquisite species that have an incredible eye for the finer things. Many stones that you find in jewelery across the nebulous are crafted from hand picked Krustallian Crystals." He pointed dramatically at the circlet Allura wears. "Exhibit A."

Allura blushed at the sudden attention. "The Kruos have created their civilization underground. That is where all of their resources are found. And their most valuable resource is their Crystaline water. It is their life source." An image on the projectors popped up of a stunning waterfall cascading around jagged crystals. "But be cautious Paladins - the Kruos have an incredible ability to mimic voices they've heard. Many have fallen prey to a rogue Kruos abusing this ability." 

Coran was back at the helm punching in buttons and setting course. "Only a few more dobashes, Paladins. Get ready."

They sat at their positions on the deck. As they neared the planet, blinding colors refracted in every angle. It was beautiful. "Alright, we will leave the ship here and take our lions." Allura made her way to the access point for the Blue Lion. Everyone followed in her tracks. 

In no time they were space-bound growing ever nearer to the planet's surface. "Princess, do we know the exact location of the beacon?" Keith asked. 

"The crystal amplified the signal enough for us to reach it, but that amplification makes it hard to pinpoint where underground it's coming from." She explained. "Pidge? Is there any way you might be able to get a read?"

"I can try." Pidge tapped on her monitors, her brow creasing in focus. They gave her a few moments to work her science magic. 

Lance was drawn in to the beautiful lights dancing around their lions. A smile spread across his face. It was a dream of his as a kid to see the Northern Lights. While this wasn't it exactly, it was pretty damn close. Keith scanned the surface of the planet, it was mostly smooth with the occasional spire that looked like it had stairs wrapped around them. It was like a massive anthill. Hunk was distracted, thinking of Shay - all the talk of crystals made him miss her and all the other Balmerans. Allura was wracking her brain, trying to think of everything she had heard about the Kruos from her youth. She felt like she was missing something. 

"Got it!" Pidge exclaimed, pushing up her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "Well, not exactly, but I was able to narrow it down to the fourth quadrant." She paused, looking for signs of acknowledgement. Her shoulder drooped, "The bottom right from where we are. See that spire with the stuff sticking out of it? That's probably our best bet for entrance." 

"Alright everyone." Keith began to lead them towards Pidge's direction. "Stay together and stay alert." He circled the spire a few times, frown intesifying with each rotation. "Our lions are too big, we will have to leave them out here." Once they had all grouped up on the ground, Keith looked up at the spire. He didn't have a good feeling about this. He didn't like answering a distress call without the lions. A distress call with unknown instructions, no idea whats going on below the surface. 

They began the trek on the tall and winding staircase to the top. "So how do we know where to look?" Hunk inquired. "If there are rogue bug-people, how do we not tip them off?" 

"You have a good point." Allura tapped her finger on where her chin would be if her helmet wasn't in the way. "I suppose this will have to be a mission of a few parts. Reconnaissance and execution." It has been 10,000 years since her people had even possibly known the condition of the Kruos. With how the Galra have expanded and taken over, she wouldn't be surprised if their reach had expanded to this side of the universe.

Lance was humming to himself, looking at the lights on his skin. He was distracted as they reached the top and almost stepped into the chasm below. Keith lauched out his arm and pulled Lance away from the edge. "Lance! Watch where you're going."

Lance flailed his arms around as he tried to regain balance. His eyes were wide as he, carefully this time, neared the edge. That was deep, and surprisingly dark for how bright and colorful it was on the surface. He scanned the hole for some kind of safe way down. "Ummmm guys?" He looked up at his team. "How are we supposed to get in!?" It was like the top of a volcano - just a ledge and certain death below them. 

Pidge joined Lance in examining the hole. "Hmm." She mumbled to herself. She peered in closer, seeing something catch the light in the darkness. Whatever it was caused the light to be reflected directly into her eyes. She squinted, rubbing the light spots out of her eyes. When she looked back there was a giantic insect face inches from hers. "Ahhhh!" Pidge scrambled backwards as fast as possible.

The rest of the paladins turned their attention to the commotion. The head of the insect rose out of the cavern to reveal the rest of its body. It was a pale pink with hints of lilac. A mass of crystals lined its back. "Sorry to startle you, little one." It reached out one of its large front legs to assist Pidge up. She hesitantly accepted and rose to her feet. "What brings you here?" the creature looked around at the faces surrounding it. 

Allura piped up, "We just came to visit your beautiful planet. Maybe take in a tour and an excavation excursion?" He bat her eyelids and smiled. Hoping that her knowledge of their tourism industry still held up. People across the universe would come to harvest their own crystals.

Keith noted that Allura was not the best under pressure. She tried too hard to act nonchalant, but maybe this creature wouldn't notice. He looked at his team, eyes narrowed. Pidge was dusting herself off. Hunk was cowering behind Lance. And Lance was qawking at the alien. Keith wasn't going to speak, he had decided that when he heard about their mimicry. He wasn't going to be decieved if this took a turn for the worst.

"Ahh excellent!" The creature clapped its front legs together, "We haven't had anyone here for the tour and harvest in so many ages. Or should I say decapheebs?" It turned its attention back to Allura. "You are Altean, yes?" 

Allura looked surprised, "Oh, yes I am." She smiled and placed her hand on her chest, "I am Princess Allura." She turned to the rest of the team, "This is Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Keith. Thank you for welcoming us."

The creature made a small bow, "The pleasure is mine Princess. I am Rhodon." He spun around and tapped his leg in the mouth of the chasm. A disc rose from the depths and situated itself where the hole once was. "Follow me." He stepped on the plate and beckoned for everyone to join. The team shuffled onto the disc and began their decsent. 

The ride down was just as beautiful as the surface of the planet. There was alcoves covering the walls, bustling with the Kruos. The upper levels looked to be markets and other common areas, below them seemed to be residences. From the surface the chasm was just darkness, but once inside it was bursting with light from spores that floated around the center of the spiraling city. Pidge extended an arm to poke one of the spores, but Rhodon lowered her arm before making contact. "Please, little one, do not touch the lumomes. They are very fragile." Pidge mumbled to herself repeating the name and examining from a distance. The disc came to a stop at what seemed to be the city center, it was the busiest location they had seen. 

Rhodon stepped off the plate and gestured toward the crowds, "Welcome to Quarzia, the largest and most hospitable city on all of Krustallos. I must go tell Queen Rosarine that we have guests, but I will be back shortly." As they walked after Rhodon he turned and looked at each of them, "Don't wander too far, it shouldn't take long." With that he disappeared into the crowd. There must have been hundreds of the Kruos on this level, but not all were pink, the population varied in different pastel colors. It was like a kelidoscope exploded with soft shades and highlights.

Keith circled the team up, looking over his shoulders to make sure he was out of earshot of any Kruos. "This place is massive. We might need to split off to cover more ground."

"But Rhodon said he would be right back. Wouldn't it be more suspicious if we just vanished?" Hunk piped up. He was not thrilled to be around this many insect-people, but he was starting to warm up. 

"How long are we supposed to be stuck here then?" Keith looked around the gigantic cavern. "We can't play tourist until we happen upon someone who needs help." He looked to his team for support. 

Lance rubbed the back of his head and frowned. "Keith, I think we all have a weird feeling about this place, there's too much we don't know. We might have to lie low for a while."

"We will stay in their tour rooms. Explore and find information at night while the Kruos are asleep." Allura offered. 

Keith grumbled, "Fine." He looked above Pidge's head at Rhodon emerging back from the crowd. "That was fast." He grimaced. His team turned to greet their guide.

"Follow me to the quarry for your lesson in harvesting our crystals." 

-

The quarry was deep past the city away from their exit. It was situated on the edge of the waterfall from Coran's hologram. Rhodon had done his job explaining how to extract the crystal from its bed, how to look for the right size and shine, and set the team off to their harvesting. When it was all said and done, he brought them to their temporary residence. He bid them a good night and said he would return for them in the morning.

"We have to split in two." Keith leaned against the wall, trying to think of what Shiro would do. "One team goes up and one team goes down. We need to cover as much ground as possible." 

"Who's going where?" Hunk looked to Keith for direction. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of splitting up, but he knew he didn't want to be stuck here any longer than necessary. The rest of the team looked to Keith for guidance as well. 

"I'll go down- "

"I'm coming with you." Lance interjected. 

"What? Why?" Keith furrowed his brow.

"Because you like to charge into fights and you need somone to cover your back. As the resident sharp shooter," He made finger guns and swung them around the room making fake shots, "It's a perfect job for me." He ended with a smirk in Keith's direction.

Keith flushed and looked to the other three, "You all can go up then. You should be able to hold up well together." He thought about the compostion of the teams, one heavy hitter and a flank or two. It seemed to square well. "Sound good?" His question was met with nods and the team breaking off. "Stay on comms and check in when you can." 

Keith watched as Allura, Pidge, and Hunk went their seperate way. "They'll be okay." He felt Lance's hand on his shoulder following his words.

Keith turned to meet his eyes, "I know." He began the trek down into the uninhabited caverns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Creating an alien race from scratch was harder than I thought, and I didn't think it would be easy to begin with. 
> 
> Sorry this was so short, the next one will hopefully make up for it :D
> 
> This update came very quickly because I'm so excited to be back and writing!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Jailbreak

Pidge was subconsciously leading the group up towards where they were dropped off from the plate in the middle of the city square. Once they made it to the plate, Pidge found herself recalling the bustle of the city when they were here earlier. She visualized Rhodon disappearing into the crowd towards a corridor that she couldn't see before.

"Hey, um.... Pidge?" Hunk startled her out of the daze she was in, analyzing at the corridor that she was staring at. When he saw her turn her attention to him he continued, "Where exactly are we going?"

Pidge pointed at the darkness in front of them, "That's where Rhodon went earlier when he said he was going to see the Queen." She began taking steps toward the corridor. "We are going to pay her a visit."

Hunk's eyes widened. "What? Th-the Queen?" He quickened his pace to catch up to her, "I don't think that's the best idea Pidge." He wasn't the biggest fan of the Kruos to begin with, they terrified him with their big, bulging eyes and unsettling pincers. He didn't want to even imagine what the queen looked like. 

"I have to agree with Hunk." Allura piped up, placing a hand on the green paladins shoulder. They were trying to lay low, which already isn't an easy feat. She felt like they were being reckless. As it stood now, they were separated which was something that Shiro insisted they try to avoid at all costs. "We still don't know if the Galra have influence over this planet. We don't want to offer ourselves up to their ruler." 

Pidge shook her head and flicked on the light that was built into her helmet. "Maybe they will have some sort of computer system and I can get us some more answers." She began down the small and dark path. Hunk shrugged at Allura and followed Pidge. None of them knew what they were looking for, but if Pidge could maybe give them some information, it was the best thing they could go off of. 

-

Lance was fiddling with his bayard in his hands, turning it over and over. He was close behind Keith as they made their way into the depths of the chasm. The lumomes were nowhere in sight, apparently they didn't wander down this far - it put Lance on edge. The light their helmets gave off cast a dim glow that reflected off the crystals, a faint rainbow dancing in the darkness. Lance glanced over the edge, the immense darkness overwhelmed him. He took a deep breath and looked back ahead of him, but his eyes darted back a few levels below their current location. He squinted and leaned forward, trying to discern what he thought he saw. "Hey Keith." He waved his arm in Keith's direction.

Keith paused in his tracks and turned to see what Lance needed, he was several paces behind him, "What?" He backtracked to stand next to him. 

"Do you see that?" Lance pointed into the darkness below them. 

Keith strained his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of what Lance could have possibly seen. "No, what am I supposed to be looking at?" 

Lance frowned and shook his head, he had wasted their time, "Maybe it's nothing. It looked like light, really really reeeaaallly far away light, but-"

"We'll check it out when we get down there." Keith offered a small smile and began the trek down again, this time he was paying more attention to the walls, making sure they weren't missing any side paths. 

Lance nodded and picked up pace to catch up to Keith. He kept taking deep breaths, he was inexplicably on edge. He was normally able to keep his cool on missions, but this one was.... different? He almost ran into Keith when his leader stopped suddenly. Keith was at the mouth of an archway, looking down the hall. Sure enough there was a light deep in the tunnel. "I knew I saw something." Lance grinned.

"Stay alert." Keith formed his sword before stepping through the arch and down the path.

-

The team came to an abrupt hault when they heard a scream rattle through the halls. They looked to each other, eyes wide and hearts pounding. 

"Someone please help me!" The voice rang out again. This time Pidge perked up, her brows furrowed and looked around for where the sound was coming from.

"Pidge," Hunk looked down at her with concern in his eyes, "what's up?"

Pidge spun around, eyes wide and wet with emotion. "Matt." She was frozen for a few moments before the scream rang out again and she bounded down the corridor to the source of the screaming.

Hunk grabbed Allura's hand and took off after Pidge, he wasn't splitting up now. "Pidge wait!"

Allura ran alongside Hunk in Pidge's wake, "Pidge, what if it's not him?" The Kruos could mimic voices and it concerned Allura that it was Matt's voice, when Pidge had been avidly looking for him and her father since their disappearance. 

Pidge stopped suddenly and looked back at Hunk and Allura with determination in her eyes. "If it isn't him, they still know his voice and I need to know how." The occasional screams had stopped, leaving their path cold. Pidge kept trekking in the direction she had been earlier, at a slower pace this time - trying to control her emotions and instinct. She couldn't run off, she needed to stay with her team, but she wasn't going to let this lead go.

Hunk looked at his friend, "We'll find him." He knew how important this was to her, and he tried to put himself into her shoes. This was her family. He wouldn't want anyone to get in the way if it was his family. Hunk wanted to help as much as he could.

-

Keith put a finger to his lips as they approached a fork in the path. The light emanating from the right side. He had noticed two Kruos guards in the distance. They stood in front of a cell with several people inside, each holding long spears. He analyzed the cell. Two canisters of what looked like quintessence, the same as the ones he found on the Galran space station, powered the bars. The cell seemed to be humming with possibly electricity? Something that kept the prisoners away from the bars. Keith looked to Lance and pointed at the guards and lifting his bayard-sword. 

Lance nodded and stayed back, his rifle elongating into a sniper. He took stance and aimed at the guard on the left, keeping Keith in his peripherals. Lance watched him creep along the wall and get into position, poised to strike. Keith counted down on his fingers, Lance took a deep breath and once Keith hit one, he fired. The guard crumpled to the ground as Keith took down the other. Lance lowered his rifle and ran to catch up to Keith. 

"Nice work, sharpshooter." Keith grinned at Lance and turned his attention to the prisoners.

Lance felt his face flush and was glad that Keith had turned around so he didn't see. He cleared his throat before stepping up to the cell, "Is everyone okay?"

The prisoners were huddled in the back of the cell, but their faces lit up at the presence of their rescuers. "Well we certainly are now." One older man piped up, stepping forward. He was Olkari.

"How did you end up here?" Keith asked the group. They were all different races, some he had never seen before.

The Olkari spoke again for the group, "We are prisoners of the Galra, this planet is a holding station until the Galra know what to do with us."

Another prisoner approached from the back of the cell, he had large ears, but not like the Galra, he looked fox-like. "Are you going to let us out?"

The Olkari put his hand out at the other man, "Please, I don't expect them to trust us so quickly." He turned his attention back to Lance and Keith. "How did you find us?"

Lance glanced at Keith before answering, "We were following a distress call. Was that you?" He tilted his head to the side.

The Olkari perked up, "Yes! That was us! I knew it would work." He looked to the fox-like man who responded with a shrug and shook his head.

"I didn't say it wouldn't work, I just said it wasn't likely."

Keith nodded and stepped back, examining the quintessence canisters once again. He formed his sword and severed the connection between the canisters and the bars of the cell. The whirring of power ceased and the bars sank into the floor. Keith kept an eye on the quintessence. Perhaps they could bring it back with them on the ship. Keith perked up in defense when he heard the stamping of Kruos legs coming in their direction. He picked up the spears that the guards had dropped and tossed it back to the prisoners. The fox grabbed one and another bulkier prisoner caught the other. Lance lifted his rifle to aim at the corridor in front of them. "We're going to get you out of here." Keith turned back to face the prisoners. "But we are going to need your help." The prisoners nodded or made sounds of agreement and readied to fight. 

-

Pidge looked back at the group and grinned, "We found it." Hunk and Allura looked past her into a room filled with computers and other forms of technology. This was the only entrance so Hunk stood guard as Pidge began her work. It took several minutes to break through their techs defenses and several more minutes for her virus to translate everything. She mumbled to herself, "Come on, Matt. Where are you?" 

Hunk choked a scream before he was thrown back into the room, hurling past Allura and Pidge. 

"Hunk!" Allura raced to his side and looked at the doorway he was defending. A swarm of the Kruos were filing in, spears in a readied stance.

Pidge panicked and connected her suit to the computer, if she couldn't find the information now, she would look at it later. Allura was already in the midst of battle, wrapping her whip around the Kruos and crashing them into each other and various objects in the room. "Be careful of the computers!" Pidge called out and started slicing her spade at a few Kruos that had gotten close to her, trying to stay in range of the cord.

Hunk rubbed his helmet and rose to his feet, forming his cannon and firing into the swarm. He tapped the side of his helmet to turn on his comms, "Keith! Lance! We could really use your help up here!" He waited for a response, trying to pay attention to the fight that surrounded him, dodging spears that were being thrusted in his direction. "Keith!" He tackled a group of Kruos into the far wall, like a domino effect. "Lance!" He regrouped with Allura and Pidge as they got overwhelmed. "Nothing." He frowned at the two.

The three tried to fight through the swarm, but they were quickly outnumbered and cornered. The circle tightened, but stopped suddenly when they heard a tapping near the door. The Kruos turned and bowed. A massive Kruos stood in the doorway, her coloring shifted from shades of blue to pink and green and everywhere in between. The crystals along her back were radiant, reflecting even the dimmest light and amplifying it. On her head was a crown of crystals, they almost resembled thorns in the way they twisted and tangled atop her head. Her antennae had glowing tips that flicked with the faintest noise.

"You must be the tourists." She stepped into the room. Her voice was regal, smooth and rich, but also ice cold. If words were physical hers would be like an arrow through the throat. "Is this how you repay our hospitality?" 

Pidge shifted to hide the cable connecting to the computer. She was halfway there, they needed to stall and make a quick getaway. She wracked her brain to come up with even a sliver of a plan. 

Allura lifted her chin, "Your majesty-"

"Silence, vulgarian." The Queen hissed at Allura's attempt to explain herself. She continued her trek forward and met the paladins face to face. "I thought your people were obliterated." She looked down at Allura and made a sound of disgust, "Unfortunate." The Queen then turned her attention to Hunk and Pidge. "You two are interesting creatures," Hunks breathing hitched as she got closer to him, he had to resist his urge to vomit or faint. She stopped with her eyes on Pidge, "Haven't I seen you before?"

Pidge scowled at her, she meant Matt. She had seen him. Matt had been here. "This is our first meeting, your majesty." Pidge's words flicked off her tongue with venom in every syllable. 

The Queen chuckled and turned away, "Ahh yes. I remember now." Her back was still turned when Matt's voice rang out again, "Dad! No, where are you taking him?!" She turned back, "Katie, right?" Her voice was back to her own.

"What did you do to him?" Pidge tried to ignore everything else. "Where is my brother?"

The Queen cocked her head to the side, "Me? Why, I never touched him." She traced her front leg across the control panel they were trapped behind. "In fact... he was never here." She cooed at Pidge, reveling in the information.

Pidge furrowed her brows at the Queen. "What?" She snapped. "Then how do you know about him?"

The Queen flicked her front leg back and forth, "I never reveal my secrets, at least not the ones I don't want you to know about." She began to exit, "But I might get you to tell me all of yours." She tapped her feet on the ground as she disappeared and the Kruos began swarming them again.

-

Shiro and Coran had been on the main deck the whole time team Voltron was on the foreign planet. They couldn't rest. The comms had been nothing but static since the lions had entered the atmosphere. They had been catching up, filling in the details that Shiro had missed in his absence. 

"You met me from another dimension?" Shiro's eyes were wide and his mouth agape. "And my name was Sven?" He broke into a fit of laughter. 

Coran nodded and twirled his mustache in his fingers. "Strangest of all you were actually friends with Slav."

Shiro had missed his team, he was disappointed he wasn't a paladin anymore, but he was proud of how everyone had stepped up. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a disturbance on the surface of the planet. "Coran!" He jumped to his feet and ran to the giant window in front of them. "Bring us closer." 

The Altean complied and brought them as close as he could without Allura piloting. "Jumping Jackawallies! Is that the Red Lion attacking the planet?" 

"Something is wrong Coran. The red lion only controls itself when Keith is in trouble." At least that's what they had observed before, maybe it was Lance who was in trouble now. 

Coran nodded and pulled up the castle defenses, all the power to the main weapons. "We have to be ready." Shiro was restless. He felt helpless with no ship to go and help fight. 

-

Lance's world moved in slow motion as soon as he heard a familiar voice scream. A Kruos guard had thrown their spear at the jail cell. It was flying too high and shattered one of the containers of quintessence, the glass scattering and plunging itself into the back of Keith's neck. He fell to the ground and cried out in pain. The guards had finally lessened, now was their chance. Lance turned and began to run back to Keith. Keith raised his hand and yelled through groans of pain, "No! You... you have to get them out of here."

Lance shook his head and knelt down next to him, offering an arm to help him stand "No, I'm not leaving you behind."

"I'll be fine." Keith shoved Lance's arm aside and struggled to his feet, shaky and heaving in jagged breaths. "Go!" He yelled out the command and pushed Lance forward.

Lance frowned but followed Keith's order. He rallied the prisoners together and armed as many as possible with spears and other makeshift weapons. He ran down the corridor and out into the main chasm that led to the exit. He heard a roar echoing through the abyss followed by crashing and crunching. The entire anthill started shaking and shards of crystal began to rain from the sky. The red lion came speeding down and stopped in front of Lance, but he knew he wasn't here for him. Keith was in trouble. "Alright everyone get on." Lance led the prisoners on-board the lion and set course for the castle. He thanked every god he could think of that Red was fast. He needed to get back to Keith.

Keith struggled against the wall, he reached his hand back to the glass in his neck pulling the shards out and feeling his wounds close underneath his fingers. His hands were damp with his own blood. Quintessence. His wounds were healed, but why did he still feel like this? Why was his skin burning? Why was there a deep haze that had clouded his vision? He stammered through the caverns. The ground under his feet shook and he lost his balance, crashing to the ground at the mouth of the corridor. He was so close. He couldn't stop now.

-

The room began to shake and the fighting came to a hault for a moment. Pidge saw the meter on her arm click to 97%. She used the moment of confusion to fight a small path in front of her out. Hunk and Allura followed her lead and cleared out a line to the doorway. 98. Allura ran to the door, turning back and beckoning the other two, "Come on, we need to go!" 

Crystal was breaking off the ceiling and clattering to the ground, crushing some of the Kruos under it. The other Kruos began coming out of their stupor and turning their attention back to Pidge and Hunk. Hunk grabbed Pidge's shoulder, "Pidge, let's go!" 99. Pidge furrowed her brow and kept swiping at the Kruos that formed around her. Not this close, she wasn't going to give up. Not now. "Pidge!" Hunk groaned and grabbed a hold of Pidge's waist and lifted her over his shoulder. 

Pidge resisted and tried to climb out of his grip. A shard clattered to the ground right next to the pair. "Hunk, please!" She struggled to keep her arm close to the console, but Hunk lunged forward, as a shard collided with the control panel and shattered it into a hundred pieces. She gaped at the technology as she was dragged out of the room and down the corridors. 

The entire planet was groaning under the stress of the shaking. It wasn't the planet making the noise... It was a lion. As they made it to the city square, tons of Kruos civilians flooded the area in a panic. The red lion went racing up past them, towards the surface of the planet. "We need to get out of here." Allura raced to where the plate that brought them from the top of the spire was, but it had been buried by crystal debris. 

Pidge formed her grappling hook and turned over in Hunk's arms to face them. "I'll go get Green and bring you guys to yours." Before either of them could interject she had shot her hook towards the surface. The hole was now considerably larger and unstable, pieces falling and clattering down into the gorge. The hook had made contact and Pidge went shooting up towards the sky. Her brain was jumbled, and only halfway through her flight she realized this wasn't the best idea. She had hooked onto a piece of crystal that broke apart and was falling. Pidge mounted the shard and fired her grappling hook again. She made it to the surface and took off toward her lion. She saw the red lion still rocketing toward space, towards the castle. She shook her head and stayed focused on reaching her lion. She couldn't strand Hunk and Allura, not after what she had already put them through. 

-

Lance landed on the Red Lions hangar in the castle, where Shiro ran up to meet him. They both got the prisoners off the lion, when everyone was accounted for Lance turned on his heel to go and get Keith. He stopped and turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He couldn't hear the words Shiro was saying, the pounding in his ears was too loud. Lance shook his head and ran back into the lion, "Sorry Shiro, I have to go!"

He flew as fast as he could back toward the surface of the planet. He saw Pidge flying the Green Lion into the cavern and followed suit. Where Pidge stopped on a earlier floor, Lance found himself hurdling towards the bottom of the pit. The Red Lion came to a sudden stop and Lance jumped out of his seat and raced back into the darkness of Krustallos. "Keith!" He raced to his side, Keith had collapsed on the floor, shards of crystal littering the ground around his body. Lance grabbed Keith's arms and helped him stand. "Keith can you fly? We need to get out of here, this whole city is coming down." 

Keith grunted in agreement and allowed Lance to help him board the Red Lion. He leaned against the pilots seat as Lance brought him back up to the surface. On their way out Keith heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Pidge picking up Allura and Hunk. Everyone was safe. Well, alive at least. Lance tried to help Keith to his lion, but Keith dismissed him, "I've got it!" He snapped, more than he meant to. It was hard to control when his body was in excruciating pain, he was trying to ignore it, but the burning and pinching pain was like a patchwork across his skin. It drove him crazy. He sat in his pilot seat and flew around his team, offering cover fire from the Kruos guards that were filing out of the hole and sending their spears flying in the direction of the paladins. Once they were all safe in their lions, Keith rallied the team and flew them out of the atmosphere, back towards the castle. Mission: accomplished.

Keith sat in the Black Lion for several minutes, his eyes were clenched so tightly shut that when the pain began to subside and he tried to open them, it was like they had been glued together. He looked down at his suit, the lining under the armor had been torn to shreds, but underneath the scraps of fabric he saw... He gasped and gripped at the skin that was affected. Breathing became increasingly difficult as he kept seeing purple fur where his skin would have been, patches of the fur met his normal skin. He hesitated before looking at his reflection in his lions HUD. It was a mistake - he shouldn't have done that. Where he thought his face would have been was a hybrid between his own and a strangers. Not even a stranger... the enemy. One eye was faintly glowing yellow, the patchwork of fur and skin following its pattern onto his face, but he had fully formed Galra ears. He threw himself out of his chair and onto the floor. His entire body shaking as he tried to steady his breathing. It wasn't working. He felt the steaming hot tears purging themselves from his eyes. He couldn't...

The doors to his pilot chamber opened and Lance was in the doorway. Keith could feel the anvil on his chest as he tried to yell at him to get out. Leave him. But nothing came out, it was just his jagged breathing cutting through the silence that lasted a lifetime. Behind Lance, he saw the rest of his team's faces forming. This was his worst nightmare. No, worse. This was real, it was happening and he was helpless on the floor. 

Lance rushed to Keith's side and knelt next to him. It was obvious that Keith had began to turn Galra, everyone could see it, but Lance ignored it. "Keith you're okay." He was worried about him, so much that it made him want to throw up, but he could recognize an anxiety attack from blocks away, so he stayed calm and warming.

"Lance get away from him, he could be dangerous." Allura called out to him from the back of the group. The worry on her eyes was real and she had a hand on her bayard, ready to attack if things went south.

"Dangerous?" Lance turned back to face them. "He's not some stray animal, he's still Keith." His eyes had narrowed into a glare. How could she say that, but as he looked at the rest of them, they all looked worried. Worried that Keith would turn on them.

"Lance, he's Galra." Allura added, softening her voice to try to convince Lance, but it didn't work.

Lance shook his head and grabbed Shiro's arm, the one that he had been given by the Galra. "What about this? Do you think Shiro is going to turn on you? This is tech," he shook the arm and then released it from his grasp, "Keith is a person with thoughts and feelings. I'm more worried about the arm than him." He turned to take his place by Keith's side again. He placed a hand slowly and gently on Keith's arm. No sudden or unexpected movements.

"Lance." Hunk almost whispered out of shock and fear, and probably plain exhaustion. 

Lance turned and stared blankly at them, "Please, give him some space." After a few moments of the team trying to figure out what to do, they left. Lance sighed in relief, he was shaking with adrenaline, he couldn't believe he did that. Shaking his thoughts out of his mind he turned his attention to Keith, his breathing had become more strained and the pained emotion on his face was almost to much for Lance to handle. "Keith," he began softly. "You are okay, but I need you to do something, okay?" He realized that Keith had grown ears, he hadn't noticed them since they had been folded back onto his head, like a cat when they are scared.

Keith managed to nod, not wanting to meet eyes with Lance. He couldn't believe this was happening, why him, and why Lance, and why this? 

Lance gave Keith a small smile and kept his voice low and level. "I need you to sit up." After a few minutes of Keith making a motion to sit, and laying back down taking more labored breaths, he finally managed to sit up and lean against the wall closest to him, body still shaking. "Last thing." Lance assured him, "Raise your hands above your head."

"What?" Keith choked out, meeting Lance's gaze. His breath caught in his chest. How did he look like that? So... He shook his head and shakily raised his arms, hands above his head.

"Good." Lance smiled, "Now back down." Keith furrowed his eyebrows, but still he followed Lance's direction. "You're doing great." Lance nodded and slowly leaned back, giving Keith a little bit more room. "Now do it again."

Keith groaned but complied. He raised his arms and lowered them, and every time he heard Lance say, "Again". He was staring at his knees for the first several sets, eventually when his breathing was manageable again, he looked up to Lance. His face was so soft, his eyes filled with... worry. He darted his eyes away quickly and felt his cheeks grow hot. Continuing the sets of arm raises for several minutes until he couldn't lift them anymore. He slumped back against the wall and took a final, deeper breath. Bringing his eyes back up to Lance.

Lance relaxed and sat back across from Keith. "Good job, buddy." He smiled at him and took a deep breath himself. 

Keith felt his cheeks flush again and his ears began to unfold and stand up. "Th-thanks." He brought his knees up to his chest and examined his hands, long, sharp claws now donned on his fingernails, the purple fur swirling across the back of his hand and his palm. "How did you-?"

Lance watched Keith examine his hands. "Like I said, my mom has anxiety. I've helped her since I was little." He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, not wanting to stare at Keith and his new... attributes. "I had to tire you out somehow, make you focus on something tedious." 

Keith felt the tingling in his arms and managed a small laugh, "Well, it worked." He frowned again and shoved his hands underneath him. He looked back up at Lance and recalled everything that just happened. His team was scared of him. Everyone except for Lance. Lance who helped him, saw him at his weakest and was genuinely worried and wanted to help. "Thank you, Lance. Really. I-" He shook his head and looked back down. He didn't like to let people in, let people care about him, but here Lance was - obliterating every wall that Keith had managed to build. 

Lance smiled and rose to his feet. He made his way to Keith and held out his hand. "Any time. I told you I would be here for you, right?" 

Keith rolled his eyes and took his hand, helping him get back on his feet. For a moment he forgot about his monstrous appearance. They exited the Black Lion to find the team waiting for them in the hangar. They had a mixture of emotions on their faces, mainly fear and worry. Keith didn't want to address it at the moment. His ears had folded back down as he passed the group, eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see them struggling with if they should say anything or not. Once he got to the exit of the hangar, he breathed a sigh of relief and began the familiar path to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really took my time with this chapter and I'm psyched with how it turned out. I think I was too excited about being back into writing that I rushed through the first two chapters, and I regret it. I might do some tweaking to them, flesh it out a bit more. (Let me know if you want me to do that or not :) )
> 
> Thanks again for reading, and thank you for sticking around as I find my style again. It means a bunch :D

**Author's Note:**

> I've been inactive in the writing community for years and this is my first real attempt to rejoin. I've felt like a part of me was missing. I'll try my hardest with this fic and I love the concept I have in my head, it's just getting it to come out :p
> 
> Please be patient with me and thanks for reading :)


End file.
